Authors Note: This chapter's dialogue contains a healthy dose of movie lines, so if it sounds too awesome to be written by me, it probably wasn't written by me. Ehe.
Now, to reveal the mysterious three captors... most people got two of three right. Amethyst Amore and Abreaction (on the second guess, hehe), CONGRATS for getting it all right.
Enjoy!
Allen Walker next awoke to find himself on a small ship. He whipped his head around to survey his surroundings, but doing so caused a wave of dizziness to overcome him. When he next looked up, he met the eyes of the tall, blonde young man, who was chuckling to himself.
"You drugged me," Allen accused incredulously.
"Naturally," the man replied, sauntering over to squat before Allen. "Were you the average thin-boned princess, we might have merely tied you up, but do not think me so blind as to miss your strength. I do not doubt that you are stronger than I, and thus took precautions. You cannot move at present, and I do not recommend testing that."He snickered. "Unless you'd like to look even more of a fool, heehee."
"I'll take your word for it then," Allen snapped. "Would you at least tell me who my captors are?"
The man stood and bowed low at the waist with a flourish. "Jasdevi Noah, the most brilliant strategist and trickster in the land. Surely you've heard of me," he introduced with a smug grin.
"Not at all," replied Allen cheekily, but it was a lie. He'd heard of Jasdevi; the young man was infamous for starting bar fights to full out clashes against noble families, and he did it all while escaping the authorities. Rumors were that he now worked only for cash, and for a lot of it at that. Allen surmised that somebody had paid Jasdevi to kidnap him…someone extremely wealthy. But for what purpose?
"Marie, look after the prisoner," Jasdevi ordered the dark-skinned giant. "Daisya, stop day-dreaming!"
"I ain't day-dreaming, Jasdevi," the hooded one called Daisya whined, "I'm just wondering why we have to sail all the way up to the north. It's such a pain."
"I told you, moron! We take the kid up into Cross territory, kill him, dump him there, and then start a war!"
"I didn't know we had to kill him," Marie spoke in a slow, deep voice as he moved to sit beside Allen. "I don't like that."
"Yeah," Daisya agreed. "You didn't say anything about killing, Jasdevi."
Jasdevi groaned in annoyance. "It's a goddamn war, I thought it was obvious that there would be killing involved. But since you two are a bunch of pansies, Iwill do the killing, so keep your panties on!" he shrieked. "But remember your place, both of you! Daisya – remember where you were before I came along? Poor and drunk and homeless in Barcelona! And you," he whirled to face Marie. "You were an outcast and a freak in that village in France, living off scraps. Unless you want to go back to that place, you two better shape up!"
"He's rather tense, isn't he?" Allen whispered to the giant.
"He's always like this on missions, you see," Marie replied with a furtive smile.
"That's quite a shame. I'm sorry."
"You're good at this rhyming game, I believe."
"This is a game? I didn't know."
"It is, and I'm somewhat of a pro."
"Stop that," yelled Jasdevi, hands on his hips, "you know I hate it when you rhyme!"
"He says that every time," Marie whispered.
"Stop it!"
Allen would have liked to keep up the bantering as it so irritated his captor, but Marie fell into obedient silence and the drugs messing with the boy bride's head didn't allow him to stay awake much longer. He succumbed to the drowsiness eating away at his consciousness and let Marie shift him into a sleeping position on the deck. It certainly wasn't his goose feather bed at the castle, but Allen was suddenly so sleepy that he fell asleep instantly.
It was only when Daisya and Jasdevi began arguing loudly that Allen opened his eyes again, and by then time had passed so that it was well past nightfall. Marie was holding a lantern, and there was one beside Daisya, but apart from that they were blanketed in darkness. The moon above provided only minimal light, and for the first time since his capture, Allen felt quite afraid.
"Would you stop looking back all the time," Jasdevi was shouting, "it's so goddamn annoying."
"But what if there's someone following us?" Daisya asked, glancing over his shoulder again.
"Inconceivable," Jasdevi stated simply. "Who in London would know of what we've done, and no one in the north knows of what we will do."
"…okay, but…"
"But what?"
"I'm just wondering then, why there's a ship behind us?"
Jasdevi jumped to his feet and dashed over to the side of the ship. He gaped and spluttered. "Inconceivable!" Shaking his head, he ran a hand through his long blonde hair. "No, no, I'm right. He's not following us. He's probably just some fisherman out a little early."
"…at midnight?" Daisya queried disbelievingly.
"It's entirely plausible," snapped Jasdevi. "In any case, leave the thinking to me, you dullard. Just keep us on course for the Cliffs and we'll be fine."
"So we are going to the Cliffs then?" Marie spoke.
"Obviously," Jasdevi scoffed. "This river has a branch that leads to the ocean, as all rivers do, and from there we can enter the bay that will take us straight to the heart of the north. It's a shortcut as opposed to following the river all the way, which would take days. We should reach the Cliffs at the bay by daylight."
Cliffs? Heart of the north? Allen didn't like the sound of all this plotting, and so whilst his captors discussed their plan, Allen willed himself to move and overcome the effects of the drugs. He managed to stumble over to the side of the ship before being noticed, and as Jasdevi screamed get him, Allen flung himself overboard and began to swim.
"You fool!" Jasdevi called after him. "Don't you know anything? This river is home to the shrieking eels! If you don't want to die a horribly painful death, swim back now!"
Allen would have opened his mouth to respond with an I don't believe you, but that was when he felt something slimy brush against his leg, and the telltale high pitched hissing as the waters around him swirled unnaturally. A fin breached the top of the water and Allen could see the first flashes of a long, thick tail. Then the shrieking began.
"Come back and I won't hurt you," Jasdevi offered. "I doubt you'll get such a proposition from the eels."
But Allen couldn't speak, for just after Jasdevi had thus spoken, an eel with its vicious jaws wide open lunged out of the water towards him, and its teeth were perhaps as large as Allen's entire face… its breath was putrid, and Allen couldn't move—
"But he doesn't die."
The boy blinked. "What?"
"I'm telling you, Allen doesn't die here."The man clarified almost soothingly.
"I figured," said the boy in a huff.
"Okay. I just thought you'd like to know, since you were getting so upset about it."
"I wasn't upset! Just…curious. Keep going."
The man shrugged. "Alright. So, as I said, Allen doesn't die, because Marie reached out with his large hands and pulled him from the water at the right time."
Spluttering on deck, Allen shivered and coughed, his heartbeat still racing from his near death encounter. Marie handed him a blanket and he took it gratefully. Jasdevi leered at him, arms crossed.
"You're quite a handful, highness," he drawled. "I may have to give you another dose of tranquilizers if you don't settle down."
Allen wanted to reply, truly he did; he had a cheeky comeback and everything, but all he could manage was a chattering of his teeth and deep uneven breaths.
"Rest, highness." Jasdevi smiled dryly and nodded to Marie, who hesitantly bound Allen's hands and feet with thick rope.
Morning brought the kidnappers and their kidnapped bride to the aptly named Cliffs of Insanity. Allen gaped in horror and awe at the sheer rock face that awaited them. It was truly vertical, and as Daisya helped him off the ship and onto the rocky shore below the cliff, Allen stared up and could not see any possible means of getting up there. Well, there was a long, thick rope hanging down from presumably the top, but if they expected him to climb it, they were sorely mistaken.
They were going to climb, apparently, though not as Allen figured. Jasdevi grabbed a harness from the ship and instructed Marie to put it on. Daisya placed Allen in one of the side-harnesses attached to the larger one before helping Jasdevi into another one and climbing on himself. Thus it came to pass that somehow, defying all laws of physics and nature and sanity, Marie began climbing the cliff using naught but the convenient rope and the strength of his massive arms.
"Santa Maria," Daisya exclaimed suddenly. "Jasdevi, look!"
"What? What?" Jasdevi craned his neck to look outwards at the bay.
"It's that same ship from before! I thought we lost him, but he actually caught up!"
"Ha, it doesn't matter now! He won't be able to climb up this way- he'll have to go look for the harbor that's miles away!" Jasdevi cackled.
It was about ten minutes later when Daisya exclaimed:
"Jasdevi, he's climbing up the rope!"
Allen looked down (a mistake on his part, because a wave of nausea rolled over him after doing so) to see a man clothed entirely in black, with a black mask covering his head and the part of his face above his nose. How strange. Was this man someone else who desired him dead or otherwise?
"He's gaining on us," Daisya said in awe. "What strength!"
"Marie, you useless buffoon, go faster!" Jasdevi commanded.
"I thought I was going faster…"
"I hired you for a reason, you worthless giant!"
"To be fair, I'm carrying three people and he only has himself," Marie commented, but did attempt to speed up his pace.
By the time they crawled up over the cliff face and Daisya pulled Allen to solid ground, the man in black was nearly upon them.
Jasdevi ran to the rock where the rope was tied and hacked away at it with a knife he produced from a pocket. A few swipes later and the rope ripped and fell off the side. They all (minus Allen- his feet were still bound) looked over the side and Jasdevi swore.
"Inconceivable!" he cried.
"I can't believe he managed to hold on…" Daisya murmured.
"Ugh, enough of this. Daisya, kill him. If he falls first, then that's fine. Marie, take the kid and let's go," Jasdevi ordered.
"You take care, Daisya," Marie said, patting his friend on the shoulder. "People in masks can't be trusted."
"It's alright Marie, I'm not about to get bested," Daisya replied with confidence.
Marie smiled, hoisted Allen over his shoulder and followed Jasdevi away from the cliffs and into the grassy pathways that led into the countryside.
Daisya whistled, pulled out his sword (a beautiful thing that seemed more a piece of art than a weapon) and twirled it in his left hand (he didn't want the battle to be over too quickly). He looked over the side of the cliff again to view any progress the man in black had made.
"Hello!" he called with a wave. "How goes the climb? Can you go any faster, do you think?"
The man in black looked up at him with annoyance etched plainly into his features.
"You know, this isn't as much of a walk in the park as I make it look," came the wry reply. "If you'd shut the fuck up, it'd be helpful, thanks."
"Righto."
Daisya occupied himself with more practice for all of two minutes before he peered over again.
"Are you sure you're going as fast as you can?"
"You know, instead of being such a goddamn blabbermouth, if you want to do something useful such as find me a rope, it sure would speed things up."
"Oh, a rope, I can do that! I have one here. But would you trust me, since I kind of have to kill you when you get up here?"
"That does put a damper on our relationship," the man in black replied with a roll of his eyes. "You'll just have to wait."
"How about if I swear I won't hurt you?"
"You're a Spaniard aren't you?" the man in black asked, staring up at Daisya. "I've known too many goddamn Spaniards."
"…I swear on the soul of my father, you will reach the top alive."
The man in black stopped for a moment before grumbling: "Toss me the rope."
Daisya pulled the man up with little difficulty. The man in black immediately drew his sword (not the usual fencing type, Daisya noted, but something that looked more like a katana), but Daisya put up his hands and motioned for the man to sit.
"Catch your breath. We can wait until you're ready."
The man looked highly suspicious and did not sheathe his sword even as he leaned against a rock. "Don't try anything funny or I'll—"
"No funny business, promise. Swordsman's honor," Daisya beamed. "That's quite a sword you've got there," he said after a moment.
"It's not your typical sword," the man replied. His eyes turned to the weapon in Daisya's hands. "You've got a decent one yourself."
Daisya held the sword out for the man to weigh. It was long and slender steel thing, with an intricately designed hilt that had a small silver chain with a silver bell on the end. The man nodded appreciatively and gave it back.
"My father was a master sword maker," Daisya explained. "By the way, you wouldn't happen to have six fingers on your right hand, would you?" The man raised an eyebrow and raised his hand to reveal five fingers.
"Do you always start conversations that way?"
"My father was killed by a man with six fingers. My father made this sword for him, but when the man returned for it, he offered to pay not even one tenth of the original price. My father refused, and the six-fingered man killed him. He gave me two scars, here," he motioned under his eyes to the purple markings, "which is why I have these tattoos, to forever remind me. I vowed on my father's grave that I would find the six-fingered man and kill him. I'll go up to him and say: Hello, my name is Daisya Barry. You killed my father. Prepare to die." Daisya sighed. "But, you know, it's been twenty years, so I've almost given up."
"Hn."
The man in black did not rest much longer. He pointed his sword at Daisya's face, slipped into a stance and waited.
"All ready?" Daisya asked, unable to keep the excitement from his voice. It had been so long since he'd dueled someone worthy… he hoped the man in black was as good as he appeared.
"Enough talking. Let's go," the man snapped with another roll of his dark eyes. Daisya grinned and they clashed.
The man in black was using his left hand as well, Daisya noted, and it was probably his dominant one for his strikes were easily pushing Daisya closer towards the edge of the cliff.
"You are wonderful," Daisya exclaimed with glee as the man blocked another of his attacks and quickly countered with one of his own.
"No shit," the man replied. "I've trained hard to become so." He ducked to avoid Daisya's swipe at his neck. "You're not too bad yourself," he acknowledged with a nod of his head.
"Why thank you," Daisya smiled, even as the man forced him to retreat closer to the edge. "But you are better than I."
"So why are you smiling?"
"Because I know something you don't know." The man raised an eyebrow and Daisya's grin widened. "I'm not left-handed." He deftly switched the sword to his right hand and now it was the man in black's turn to be pushed back. The man grunted in surprise and Daisya couldn't resist laughing in enjoyment as they fenced atop the rocks, until the man was slammed up against a boulder with Daisya's sword an inch from his throat.
"There's something you should know," he said, breathing hard.
"Oh? What's that?"
"I'm not left-handed either," the man smirked and as soon as the sword was in his right hand, he did some fancy maneuver and Daisya was without his weapon. He whipped around to discover his sword had been tossed far behind him. With a somewhat shaky back flip, Daisya landed beside his sword. The man in black then did a strange thing: he threw his own sword to pierce the ground a little ways from Daisya before doing a perfect flip himself, landing like a proper acrobat with one hand on the hilt of his sword. His smirk grew and as he pulled his sword from the ground, they began again.
"Truly, you are amazing," Daisya praised, wiping the sweat from his brow in the same instant he leaned away from the man's strike. "I must know: who are you?"
"No one of consequence," the man growled in reply, backing Daisya into a corner as he did so.
The battle was over in the next few seconds, or maybe it was minutes- either way it was over quite quickly. The man in black had terrifying speed with his blade, and when Daisya lost sight of the steel for but one moment, it was over. The man had flung Daisya's sword out of his hands for the second time with a flick of his own blade, and Daisya sunk to his knees.
"Kill me quickly," he murmured, defeated.
"Tch. Don't tell me what to do," the man in black grumbled. He walked around so he stood behind Daisya and sighed. "But it'll be a pain if you follow me, so…"
He clubbed Daisya on the back of his head with the hilt of his sword and Daisya Barry fell over, unconscious, but yet alive. The man in black made an annoyed noise for the wasted time before sprinting off in the direction Jasdevi, Marie and Allen had gone.
Jasdevi's expression upon seeing the blur of black running up the hillside after them was quite priceless I assure you; if only I could describe it properly, I'm sure you would be supremely amused. However, I must leave it to your own imaginations to come up with the face of utter surprise, shock, horror and disbelief that fell upon the young man's features.
"You!" He screamed at Marie. "Hide behind that rock and kill him when he comes." Jasdevi untied Allen's feet and tugged him along into the hills.
"That's not very sportsmanlike," Marie mumbled, but dutifully concealed himself. The man in black arrived not five minutes after Jasdevi and Allen had left, and Marie threw a carefully aimed rock. It smashed into a boulder right beside the man's head, and he startled and drew his sword.
"I didn't have to miss," Marie said, stepping out of his hiding place. The man narrowed his eyes and shifted his stance.
"I know. Why did you?" He asked evenly. Marie was pleased to see there was no fear in his eyes, only a cold calculating look. He didn't like when people begged or cried or did unseemly things.
"It wouldn't be very fair, if I hit you like that. This way we can have a civilized battle. Just you and me."
"By civilized you mean like idiots? As in, you drop the rock and I drop my sword and we fight like cavemen?"
"I think it's a better choice than the alternative. I could kill you now," he raised the rock and the man slowly placed his sword down. Marie let go of the rock and smiled. The man in black did not look so pleased.
"Tch."
They circled each other nice and slow, the man's eyes narrowed into slits that peered angrily from beneath his mask. With a shout, he abruptly lunged for Marie, tackling him, or at least attempting to do so. All that he in fact accomplished was wrapping his arms almost around the giant's middle in something of a bizarre hug. The man in black grumbled and leapt back, glare deepening.
He tried the same tactic once more, and this time when Marie made to grab him, he fell to the ground and rolled swiftly out of the way.
"You're quite fast," Marie noted as they resumed circling. Marie lunged and the man scurried back.
"You've got a rather unfair advantage," the man retorted, rolling between Marie's legs to stand behind him.
"Not my fault I'm the biggest and strongest," Marie replied with a shrug. This time he managed to grab the man, and threw him against one of the boulders. The man grunted in pain and began squirming. "Hey, why do you wear a mask?" Marie asked out of the blue. "Were you burned by acid or something?"
"Not exactly," the man rasped as Marie's hand made to tighten around his neck. He thrashed about enough so that he slipped through Marie's loosened hands, did an acrobatic stunt-like flip and landed behind the giant once more. This time, he clambered up onto Marie's back and wrapped his arms around the leviathan man's neck.
Marie quickly about faced and slammed his back (and consequently, the man in black) against a boulder. The man wheezed and coughed but his arms remained wound around Marie's neck.
"It's strange," Marie breathed. "Fighting just one man… I've…forgotten…" he was seeing spots now, and the man's arms were ever-tightening.
"Forgotten?" the man in black repeated in disbelief. "How the hell can you forget?"
"Well, I've fought…so many…in groups…and there's a different…style…of fighting…one on one…so…" Marie fell to his knees and turned sort of pinkish purple. "I guess…this…is…my…loss…"
Marie thudded to the ground and the man in black released his arms. He stood and surveyed the fallen giant for a moment before dusting himself off and grabbing his sword.
"I don't envy the headache you'll have when you wake, but I'll spare you so that we're even," the man murmured before chasing after Jasdevi and Allen once more.
"Any idea who the man in black is?" the storyteller asked with a smile.
"No… but he has to be some sort of sailor, because he followed them in a ship--"
"Many people at the time could use a boat, you know."
"He's strong too, and smart, since he knows all those fencing moves… but he's not from around, is he? Because you said his sword was like a katana…"
"Can't you buy katanas at the local Chinese store?"
"Yeah, but I thought you said this took place ages ago?"
"There always were, are and will be Chinese stores in any part of the globe at any given time," the man replied sagely.
The boy raised an eyebrow and sighed. "Stop stalling! Keep going if you're not going to tell me who the man in black is!"
"Very well. Now Jasdevi was not too much of an idiot, so he knew that if Daisya had been so quickly defeated, Marie would probably be done in as well. So he set up a picnic of sorts…"
When the man in black came over the hilltop, he was met with a strange sight. Upon a stump, Jasdevi had laid out a white tablecloth, a pitcher of wine and two silver goblets. His captive had been tied up and blindfolded. He sat before his spread, holding a knife to Allen Walker's pretty white throat.
"So you have defeated my swordsman and my giant," he said as the man entered the clearing. "But I wouldn't come any further if I were you." He motioned to the knife with his head.
The man didn't stop, but raised his arms.
"Look," he began, but Jasdevi interrupted.
"You want to steal something I rightfully stole, and I won't have it!" he yelled.
"I'll make you a deal," the man in black started again.
"You're killing him!" Jasdevi screeched, pushing the knife hard enough against Allen's skin that it drew a bit of blood. The man stopped.
"What now?" the man in black asked with a scowl.
"I am no match for you in skill or strength," Jasdevi said, "and you are no match for me in intelligence, so we are at an impasse. Unless you'd like to show some courtesy as a fellow villain and leave, so we may get on with things—"
"Shut the fuck up and listen," the man snapped. "A battle of wits."
"Hee! Between you and I?" Jasdevi asked, curious now. "To the death?"
The man in black nodded and Jasdevi grinned. He couldn't resist a challenge to his intelligence, an opportunity to prove himself. The man took a seat in front of Jasdevi and pointed to the wine.
After the wine was poured, the man took out a vial. He opened it and handed it to Jasdevi, instructing him to smell but not touch.
"Nothing, I smell nothing."
"What you do not smell is iocane powder. It is tasteless, odorless and dissolves completely in any liquid. It is also a deadly poison," the man explained. Thus saying, he took the goblets and the vial, held them behind his back, and put them back on the table after a moment. "Now you decide which glass has the poison in it. We both drink and then we see who is right," he smirked, "and who is dead."
"This is mere childs play," Jasdevi snorted.
"Then make your choice."
"Hee! I will, soon enough, and then you will be dead and I will become the greatest villain in history!"
"Getting a bit ahead of yourself, aren't you?" The man in black raised an eyebrow. "You're still just a kid."
Jasdevi turned nearly pink with rage. "How dare you!" he spluttered in anger. "People always looking down on me because I'm not some old geezer with a hunchback and a balding head, shuffling around in a stuffy laboratory! I won't have it! I won't! I am a genius!"
"Your reaction hardly indicates your maturity," the man drawled, crossing his arms.
"Why you--! Bastard, I'll show you! You are no match for my brains! I guess I'll have to kill you for you to realize it!" Jasdevi was positively shaking with fury as the man's arrogant smirk widened.
"It sounds to me like you're stalling, brat."
"Stalling?" Jasdevi shrieked (though it came out as more of a squeal). "You should be thankful for it, because as soon as we drink, you die!"
"It does sound like you're stalling, you know," Allen Walker mumbled.
"Shut up!" Jasdevi jabbed the knife into Allen's neck and the boy winced when it broke the delicate skin. The man in black stiffened.
"If you're so sure, make your fucking choice," he snapped impatiently, narrowing his dark eyes.
"I will!" Jasdevi replied, reaching for his cup. He stopped halfway. "Now, observe my intellect and cower in fear! For all I must do is determine whether you are the sort of man to put the poison in his own cup or not. You are learned, because you defeated my swordsman and that takes years of training, so you would have studied. In studying, you learn that man is mortal, and thus you put death as far away from you as possible, so I cannot take my cup! But iocane is from Australia, which everyone knows is populated with criminals, and criminals are used to having people not trust them, as I do not trust you, so I cannot take your cup!"
"Get on with it," the man grumbled.
"I will, oh my god, what is that?!" Jasdevi gasped and pointed in front of him. The man in black whipped around.
"What? What's what?"
Jasdevi quickly switched the goblets before the man turned around.
"What's so funny?" the man asked, suspicious of Jasdevi's smile.
"Absolutely nothing. I guess whatever I saw was a figment of my imagination. Shall we drink, then? I from my cup, you from yours."
They drank.
The man smiled.
"You guessed wrong."
Jasdevi burst out laughing. "You only think that I did! I switched the cups when you weren't looking! That's what's so funny!"
The man in black stared.
"What's the matter? Speechless? Because I outsmarted you? Because I am the winner? Because you will—"
But we will never hear what Jasdevi said the man would do (though we can safely assume his last word would have been 'die', rather ironic really) for he collapsed in a dead heap in the next instant.
The man moved swiftly, jumping over the table and removing the blindfold from Allen's eyes.
Allen Walker opened his eyes and gazed into the face of his savior. Deep, dark eyes met April rain gray and they stared at each other for a long minute.
"Who are you?" Allen breathed as a strange feeling came over him. Perhaps it was fear, perhaps something else.
The man made an annoyed sound and untied the ropes binding Allen's hands. "No one of consequence," he replied in a low voice. Allen frowned and looked over at Jasdevi's still form.
"To think, it was in your cup the whole time," he mused as the man in black helped him to his feet.
"They were both poisoned," the man corrected, holding one of Allen's hands as he pulled him along. "I have a natural resistance to iocane."
Allen's mouth formed an 'o' but he could not say anything else for the man had started running and it was all Allen could do to keep up.
But now we must turn our attention away from Allen Walker and the man in black, for someone else had arrived upon the Cliffs of Insanity…
Prince Tyki was quite upset as he mounted his horse.
"My bride has definitely been kidnapped by the villainous Cross family," he declared to the seven soldiers he'd brought to investigate as soon as he 'discovered' that his bride was missing. "Allen is yet alive, though…and if he is anything but when I find him, I shall be most put out."
Count Boric (who accompanied the Prince everywhere; of loyalty or lack of anything better to do, we do not know) grunted. "Which way?"
"Into the heart of Cross territory," the Prince said. "Come, we must hurry!"
So saying, the Prince, the Count and their band of soldiers rode off in search of Allen.
Allen Walker was of course alive, though quite tired. The man released him and the boy bride leaned against a rock, panting.
"Catch your breath, highness," the man said the title as though it burned his tongue.
"If you let me go, you may have anything you want," Allen said. "The Prince—"
"Hah, you think your dearest love will save you?" the man asked scathingly.
"I never said he was my dearest love," Allen shot back. "But yes, he will. He's the best tracker in the world. He'll find you."
"You don't love your fiancé? And you admit it freely," the man raised an eyebrow. "What a strange bride."
"He knows I do not love him," Allen replied.
"Are not capable of love more like."
"How dare you! I have loved more deeply than a bloody murderer like yourself could ever—"
The man in black slapped him across the face.
"There are penalties for lying, highness. The next time I raise my hand I won't take care to be so gentle." He grabbed Allen's wrist and they began running again.
The next time they stopped was atop a great hill, aside a steep sloping ravine.
"Rest," the man ordered. "But not for long. Your damn Prince is gaining."
Allen's eyes widened and he turned to look behind him. Sure enough, in the distance, he could make out the royal banner and a group of horses and men.
"I know who you are," Allen spoke quietly when he faced the man in black again. "Your cruelty reveals you. You're the Dread Pirate Crowley, admit it!"
"With pride," the man bowed with a smirk. "What can I do for you, highness?"
"You can die slowly, cut into a thousand bleeding pieces," Allen hissed.
"Hardly complimentary," the man shook his head. "Why so venomous?"
"You killed my love," Allen said, voice rough.
"I kill a lot of people," the man admitted with a shrug. "Who was this love of yours? Another rich bastard?"
"No," Allen snapped. "A farm boy. Poor and perfect. His name was Kanda," Allen's eyes visibly softened at the mere utterance of his love's name, but they hardened to steel when they looked back at the man. "Though I don't know if you're human enough to ask a person's name before you slaughter them."
"I remember a Kanda," the man said after a moment. "Quite a character. Didn't barter or cower or anything, just said: goddammit, I need to live. Please."
Allen's eyes grew large and perhaps a bit watery.
"That please caught my attention, so I asked him why he wanted to live so badly," the man locked eyes with Allen. "Love, he said."
Allen looked away first and the man continued. "I can only assume he meant you. You should be glad I killed him, highness. It's a good thing he didn't see what his love has done."
"And what have I done?" Allen cried, standing.
"Love, he said, highness, true love. Now tell me, did you get married as soon as you heard or did you wait a week out of respect for the dead?" the man yelled. Allen's eyes narrowed to slits.
"How dare you. I died that day!"
The sudden sound of horses drew the man's gaze to the hills behind them, and Allen took his chance.
"You can die too for all I care," he growled, and pushed the man in black off the side of the hill.
The man in black fell, rolled all the way down and Allen looked on in grim satisfaction, until he heard the man's voice, calling:
"Goddammit beansprout!"
And it was so familiar, suddenly it was so clear who was behind the mask that Allen mentally berated himself for not seeing it before… he knew, he knew who it was now, even before the mask that covered the man in black's face ripped away and long, dark hair spilled out onto the ground… Allen Walker knew, at that moment, that Kanda was not dead… his love was alive, and sprawled out on the grassy bottom of the ravine…
"Oh my god," Allen gasped. "What have I done?"
A/N: So this is the first time I've written such a long chapter, so please tell me if you spot any typos and what not. :)
I condensed the battles a bit because I can't write fight scenes very well and because frankly, they're not the point of the story. And now we're getting to my favorite parts! (I admit, I was rushing to get to the end because I wanted to write the Kanda/Allen scenes.)
And how many people (who haven't read the book/seen the movie) guessed who the man in black was correctly? Be honest now... ;P
Thank you so much to everyone who has reviewed! Reviews really make my day and hearing that so many people enjoyed this and think I have done this wonderful story justice gives my little author's heart wings. xD